Let rewound the time back to the moment PALISADE got cornered.

Hikma landed inside a room. Yep, this place was hell.

Row of cells, powered by force field and some strange scrambler, was keeping the groaning and bruising test subject in containment. They were survivor from the competition, lured here to complete PALISADE research. Several folks banged on the soundproof barrier. Hikma noticed all of them but it was a mangled corpse suspend inside a container that hit the hardest.

Salazar Aztellic was suspended inside the tube of preservation with several wires connecting to his guts and brain. Bodies of elves, human and demon in similar stated lined alongside him. Hikma felt the bile of disgust rising in his esophagus. He knew the difficulty of saving everyone, and he knew Salazar partially deserved what happened, but that didn’t extinguish the pang of regret that he wasn’t fast enough to stop this.

It was then that water began trickling from the wall and gathered at the center of the room. Inside their cell, everyone balked as a giant of water formed in the center of the room. The monster's enormous bulked dominated the room and cast a shadow over Hikma.

But after seeing his inadequacy, Hikma was done playing.

“So, you are PALISADE’s last grasp,” Hikma eyed the coming tidal monster. “I am sorry, but I am not in the mood to play around.”

[Nicholas]

[Paradiso]+[Jotun]+[Orb]

…

PALISADE felt his secret ocean golem getting frozen.

It was too fast. All those efforts to create a perpetually regenerating monster with ability to dominate enclosed space yielded nothing. What kind of magic capable of isolating the golem from the surrounding water and turned the entire room into a Winterland?

But Hikma was the least of his concern.

Crash!

Tubes and hardware surrounding PALISADE died in a burst of spark from the crushing telekinetic pressure produced by Rem.

“Okay,” Rem’s gun was point straight at the monster of an AI. “That is your signal boosters and back-up plan. Want to issue some final word of condemnation? Or maybe declare to me why your action are justified?”

“Justifying my action is unnecessary. Anyone with meager level of intellect will see how vital my operation is.”

“Really?” Rem wasn’t impressed. “I doubt Alcra Shaxter possessed meager intellect. He was one of the smartest man alive and you two couldn’t see eye-to-eye.”

“Doctor was blinded by sentimentality.”

It was Ehto turned to speak.

“So, you’re still dedicate to your mission,” the younger AI arrived at the dreadful conclusion. “You believe killing father and running this sick experiment will protect the Phantasia.”

“It is simple observation, brother. The divided Phantasia will fall to the World Enemy. Even your inferior computation ability should be able to forecast this outcome. In every combat against the World Enemy, Phantasian defenders expend a massive amount of life and resource. When an inevitable mass invasion occurs in 23 or more locations on Phantasia simultaneously, the chance of defenders’ victory drop below 1%. The Phantasian neither has the supply nor firepower capable of fending a long constant conflict with the invaders. The result is inevitable, but father still held on to his bias and object to this hypothesis. Worst, he kept commanding more and more irrational criteria, which make my function hopeless.”

…

Once in a decently cleaned and finely lighted laboratory, the living Alcra Shaxter frowned.

“PALISADE, this isn’t how you should do thing?”

It was a strategic simulation. A mock coordination scenario Alcra created to train PALISADE as the protector of Phantasia. The mission was to deal with concurrent attacks from the invading army. PALISADE successfully aced this test, except for one criterion.

The AI diverted an underground water to generate massive sink holes and cut off the enemy escape route by setting the forest on fire. He killed every single soldier but spared neither time nor attention to protect the village from being sent aflame in the conflict. Hell, PALISADE even used the village as supply trap, luring the army into camping there before springing his trap.

“I select the most optimal option to deal with the enemy.”

“And you kill the people you are supposed to protect. This level of ruthlessness is inhumane.”

“But I succeed. The village held no strategic importance to the continue survival of the country. I routed the invader and provided a deterrent with minimal investment of our part. This method doesn’t risk our capital and the infrastructure composing our supply-base. In fact, by using that village to concentrate enemy forces, I have extracted its maximum strategic value.”

“PALISADE…” Alcra said, horrified. “What is that village to you? Does the villager’s suffering, the looting and the pillaging factor at all in your calculation?”

“It did,” PALISADE admitted. “But this emotion and psychological cost is rendered moot given the dead require no expense to maintain or repair. I have extracted a perfect value for…”

“Enough!” Alcra walked out of the room in frustration. “We need to go over this exercise again! What you are doing isn’t protection!”

…

“Doctor lacked the ability to grasp a simple fact that victory requires sacrifice. He wanted a non-existent, inefficient solution to an impossible problem. For the sake of accomplishing my mission…”

Ehto cut his older brother in outrage.

“Is that the reason you kill him!?”

“No need to wonder much, Ehto,” Rem’s voice was steely. “That is the type he is. I believe I got you work out now, Z-1. I agree. Alcra is obviously being sentiment, but not for the reason you think.”

“R-“

“Stick with the code name and let me finish,” Rem sternly told Ehto. “You are right, Z-1. Alcra is being blinded by emotion, because if he kept a level-head, he would scrap you right there.”

“What if it with your multicellular organism and inability to grasp a logical solution?”

“Logical solution like a trolley problem? Let follow your logic, you believe life is just another kind of asset. It is only useful as long as it could produce sufficient value. Bodies are expendable as long as profitable return of investment is made.”

“Fascinating, unlike the doctor you do grasp the logical principle, yet you resist me.”

“Oh, I believe Alcra got it too, but the difference is he believed he can steer you away from being a disaster. Do you know there is a community that shares your operation method? They are right inside the RTS community. The type of players who go for malevolent route and subjugate their enemy to use as research subjects, and drove their people to the bone with max dread stats. It must be a dream come true for you there because you didn’t even need to care about something like approval rating and morale, just swap every worker unit with automaton and you are all set. You are lucky I am not Alcra because I would bounce you right into the incinerator the moment I understood 50% of your character.”

PALISADE only reaction was confusion.

“Why do you oppose me when you understand my perspective?”

“Because your perspective sucks. Here. Let me show you.”

Rem turned toward Ehto.

“Mate, why would you want to defend Phantasia.”

Ehto took time to think. His memory of his father surfaced. This base was all he ever known, but those times he spent was something to treasure to his dying days.

“Because the Doctor love this place.”

If PALISADE could, he would be giving his little brother a glared worthy of the basilisk.

“Doctor did nothing but complain about its deficiency. You must have heard his critique about the system ran. He desires for Phantasia to operate at a more efficient capacity.”

“What about the time he spent programing this simulation. Couldn’t you see the love in his eyes, brother? Father was passionate about making this place better for everyone. Why else would he make all those plans for improvement? You read the same files I did. The recreation park he design. Those medical and educational facilities. Why would he spend so much passion trying to improve the place he hates?”

PALISADE stayed silent before revealing the one thing separating Alcra’s greatest creations from regular computer — emotion.

Emotion such as… envy.

“It is predictable you share the Doctor’s irrationality. Despite my superior processing power, he still kept you around. No matter how abundant my memory storage and calculation space is, he always entrusted you the most important task.”

“That isn’t true. He gave you the PALISADE project.”

“PALISADE project came with the privilege to access all the resources Alcra could provide in defence of Phantasia,” Z-1’s electronic voice range ominously. “But despite that, he refused to divulge any information about Open Sky that you are in charge of.”

…

This conversation often came up in the past.

“Doctor, what is Open Sky?”

Alcra nearly chokes on his sandwich. He shot from his share and looked at the cyan orb placed in the middle of the room.

“Why are you asking that PALISADE?”

“It is the only file that isn’t in this base server, despite being heavily reference for several exploration and mining projects. Dr. Shaxter what exactly is Open Sky and why isn’t it in the database.”

Alcra suddenly developed a much keener interest in his sandwich. He internally debated the possibility of developing the new food preservation technology. He already judged that making a secret farm under the ocean was a waste of energy compared to teleporting out and doing grocery, but maybe that was simply bad maths.

“Doctor, please stop distracting you with a sandwich.” PALISADE pressured. “I needed that answer. What is open sky and why isn’t it on the database.”

Alcra went for the most convenient interpretation of the truth.

“It is a long-term project that got nothing to do with protecting Phantasia,” Alcra answered. “I am putting Z-2 in charge of that project.”

“Doctor, I still have adequate processing power. I don’t see the reason you put Z-2 in charge of such a project when I can easily handle it. And where is the brother? He completely disappeared from the base. The only conclusion I have is you making a blind spot inside the base where I couldn’t reach. Why go to this length, Dr. Shaxter.”

“I don’t want to burden you with an extra project. I believe Z-2 is more suit for this endeavour and it will help build his confidence. I simply give him some privacy to walk out of your shadow.”

PALISADE couldn’t believe this.

“You want him to surpass me?”

“I only want him to believe in himself more.”

“Why do you need him? I can surpass everything he does. My spec spoke if thrice of his. In what way Z-2 is better than me?”

Alcra’s answer was stern.

“In ways ending with people living their full life in his simulation instead of being sacrifice. Z-2 has something you never have, and I believe one day you will learn to emulate that part of his.”

Silences. PALISADE did nothing as Alcra walked away. Alien emotion welled inside its mind.

…

In the present, PALISADE pulled all his resentment out of the sleeve and presented it on the stage.

“Dr. Shaxter said you possess quality I lack. But I don’t understand what made you so special. What miracle software-”

“This might sound old but it isn’t the computing ability,” Rem explained to his enemy sternly. “What, Z-2, Ehto have and you don’t be the ability to see an alternative past the genocide run for Undertale. I don’t know what is Open Sky, but I am sure Alcra hid it away because he knew what you are deep down.”

“I am the most powerful AI in Phantasian. Way more powerful than Z-2.”

Rem nodded but asked a question which changed everything.

“True, and how did that happen. Why are you born strong, PALISADE?”

It was then Rem achieved the human impossible. He mentally cornered Phantasia Skynet, with the processing power to defeat every single chess grandmaster combined.

Rem smelled blood and dove in for the kill.

“Alcra worked it out on his last gasp, and your brother’s witness statement allowed me to craft a theory. Want to hear it, PALISADE? The reason you are the unfavorite? The answer why you will never be the ultimate defender Alcra wants you to be.”

The tension was thick enough to be whipped into the cream and the chef finally put in his finishing touch.

“Don’t you ever wonder why Ehto needed a brainwave signature from Alcra, and you don’t. It isn’t an inherent fluke or the evidence of your superiority. It is because your daddy’s gall-stone still kept its Mana signature — an intent. If Z-2, Ehto, is the son of Alcra born by the SHAXTER procedure, then you are the resurrection of that gall-stone’s previous owner. Congratulation PALISADE, you are a child of a long extinct predator.”

Rem’s statement hung in the air like raining knives.

“That is the reason you got up earlier. Human needed a lot of babying. It took baby a year to walk, while dear old cheetah already start running in less than a month. Your brain is simply hard-wired differently. But do you want to know why dinosaur doesn’t build cities or economies in their 165 million years of existing. It was because they lack ability to understand the benefit of trade. Sure, you are born strong — all predators are — but because you fight and fight from birth to death, you never to learn the value of bargaining, respect or benefiting yourself by solving people’s problem. From your point of view there is limited space in the forest called Phantasia and you are entrusted to conquer and guard it.”

PALISADE lacked of protest confirmed Rem’s accusation more than anything.

“Despite massive intellect boost being the AI gave, the habit of predator remains. But unlike your blueprint, you have an extra 300 IQ to maximize value and capitalize asset. Hence your interested in the Bio-drone project. A remote-control army must be an upgrade from pummeling the other ape to submission. What next after you finally conquer Phantasia? A project to grind anything unusable into extra food. Or maybe domesticating sentient animal like ants did to aphid? Stop with saying you want to protect Phantasia. The only thing you want to protect is your hide and the entire world is just resource depot for you.”

The AI and the human’s standoff last a solid minute. PALISADE must give Rem the credit from predicting its interest in domestication of Elves and Demons. This man could predict him to an alarming degree.

Bang!

Rem emptied [Holy Force: Finale Cross] at PALISADE vaporizing the AI in an explosion that would murder average A-ranker.

“I know you have a secret weapon. But I won’t be stupid enough to let you use. Adio—”

The light-fade revealing a cyan-colored orb surrounded by intricate machinery emitting a pearl-color shell.

Rem internally groaned. The binary prick was already prepared against direct assault.

“I admit I underestimate you. You are right. I am not what Alcra Shaxter wants me to be, but no one may deny my existence. Congratulation. You are likely the most threatening of your kind. Take that compliment the grave, human.”

Several squares of black, ominous space emerged.

“Spatial Construction Site?” Ehto warned. “R-“

“It is Dream!”

“Never mind! He is going to pull something big out of his storage space. Get out of here!”

It was the middle section of the massive underwater laboratory — entire facility housing laboratories, mustering area, incinerator and storage — burst outward as something rocketed into the ocean and out at the open sky.